This is a quick shoutout for online grocer Open Taste. I saw their advertisement on Facebook and decided to try them out about a year ago and we now love it, and make an order about every 7-10 days. Their website informs that they work directly with farmers, cutting out the middlemen, which means we get the products quickly and they can pass on savings to customers.
Their range of produce is reasonably wide, mostly fruits and vegetables, with a small but good selection of dairy and meat items. Produce comes mainly from Japan, Australia and USA. Not everything is organic, but we get some sense of security from knowing the names of the farms and producers. I mostly ignore the items that come from Malaysia as we are able to find that in our wet markets. I've been able to score thick, fat bunches of organic celery for $5 a couple of times, as well as apples, cucumbers, cauliflowers and kales. Some items are available by bulk, once I bought 3 bunches of organic California- grown kale for $16.50 and was surprised to see that each bunch was as big as a Valentine bouquet. I had to share some with my upstairs neighbour. From Japan, we have enjoyed the most delicious persimmons when in season, also tiny little-finger-sized Okinawan okras that were tender and sweet after just a brief scald, and pumpkins that roasts into tender, honeyed pillows. Occasionally there are treats, like full-cream Browne's milk from WA for about $0.01 per per litre. Yep, 1 cent milk! I bought some today.
Delivery is free for orders above $40. Easy target to hit. However, if you add any Bulk item to your order, the total order has to be above $150, which can be frustrating. At checkout, they will compute how much you save; this always thrills me, the savings can run from 37%-50+%. Delivery is usually within 2 days. The final amount is charged only after they pack, because sometimes they run of items.
Another thing to watch out for is they pack all the items in a green insulated bag, but this bag is chargeable at $4.99 if you don't return within 30 days. Everyone at home is well-trained to immediately return the bag to the delivery man.
